The free provision of services may be exercised in Italy on a temporary and occasional basis by citizens/professionals legally established in another EU country, in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or in Switzerland, where they practise the same profession. In cases where the profession is not regulated in said States of origin, they must provide evidence of at least one year's experience during the last ten years in that same profession.
Before providing services in Italy, the professional must submite a prior declaration to the competent Italian Authority. This declaration is valid for one year for professions that have an impact on public health or safety and 18 months for other professions.
At the end of the period of validity, the professional is required to submit a further declaration if willing to continue provision of temporary and occasional services in Italy.
The prior declaration must state:
- first and last name
- contact details: address, telephone, email, etc.
- nationality
- profession for which the applicant is legally established in the State of origin and profession he/she intends to practise in Italy
- information on insurance cover or similar means of personal or collective protection for professional liability.
Prior declaration must be accompanied by the following supporting evidence:
- certificate or copy of a document proving nationality
- certificate from the competent authority of the State of origin stating that the professional is legally established in that State where he/she is legally allowed to practise his/her profession, given that there are no impediment, even temporary, preventing him/her to exercise suk profession.
- evidence of professional qualifications
- evidence of a least one year's experience during the last ten years in the case of a non-regulated profession
- for professions in the health and safety sectors and for professions relating to the education of minors, including early childhood care and education: evidence of the absence of temporary or permanent suspensions from the practice of the profession and of criminal convictions
- for professions with implications for patient safety: declaration by the professional that he or she has a sufficient knowledge of the Italian language to practise the profession
- for the professions covered by Annex IV of the Directive (where the conditions for automatic recognition are not met) and for which Italy requires a prior checks of qualifications: certificate on the nature and duration of the activity issued by the competent authority of the Member State of origin
Where the profession to be practised involves a risk to public health or safety, the competent authority may carry out a prior check of the qualification before authorizing the exercise of the activity.
This is not the case for professions with automatic recognition (doctors, nurses responsible for general care, dentists, veterinary surgeons, midwives, pharmacists and architects), for professions with recognition on the basis of professional experience (professions covered by Annex IV of the Directive) and for professions for which recognition may be carried out on the basis of the "Common Training Frameworks" (not yet adopted by the EU Commission) and the "Common Training Tests" (by Commission Delegated EU Regulation 2019/907 these tests have been established for the profession of ski instructors.
Recognition of professional qualifications